Teachers

Mario Cecchetti, tenor, lives in Perugia, Italy, where he started his career as a young cellist, playing in different chamber groups. In 1977 he decided to concentrate on his vocal studies, and he took his degree with full marks, at the Conservatory of Music in Pesaro. After that, he attended Master Classes with Lajos Kozma and Sesto Bruscantini and he specialized on Baroque music, working with conductors like Rinaldo Alessandrini, Sergio Balestracci, Fabio Bonizzoni, Mino Bordignon, Filippo Maria Bressan, René Clemencic, Alan Curtis, Ottavio Dantone, Alessandro De Marchi, Gabriel Garrido, Claudio Gallico, Roberto Gini, Ton Kopmann, Barthold Kujiken, Andrea Marcon, Jordi Savall and for the classic-romantic repertoire with Gian Andrea Gavazzeni, Peter Maag, Bruno Campanella. He has been touring in many different countries, like Paris (singing at the theatres Chatelet and Odeon), Lyon, Metz, Saintes (for the Festival of ancient Music), Chaise Dieu, Beaune, Madrid, Wien (for Musikverein and for Wiener Festwochen), Amsterdam (for Holland Festival), Bruxelles (for the Kunst Festival), Lisbona (for the Foundation Gulbenkian), Liège, Geneve, Basel , Lugano, Praga, Budapest (for the Chamber Opera), Alexandria, Seoul (for the Seoul Art Center), Innsbruck (for the Festival Ancient Music). Among other places, he has been singing at Mozarteum, during the Salzburg Festival, at Carnegie Hall in New York, at the Kioi Hall in Tokyo and the Accademia of S. Cecilia in Rome, under the guidance of M° Maurizio Pollini in the “Pollini Project”. In Italy, he has given numerous performances at the most important theatres (Venice, Milan, Turin, Bologna etc.), collaborating with the major music organisations in the country. He has recorded for Tactus, Divox, Frequenz, Bongiovanni, Nuova Era, Virgin Classic, K 617, Hungaroton and Ricordi and he has also recorded concerts for the radio RAI radio 3, RAI Sat, the Dutch Television and for the RTSI. Besides his vocal career, Mario Cecchetti is also the headmaster of the Music School in Città di Castello – Italy. He has given some performances as Conductor at Festival delle Nazioni in Città di Castello (Italy): Mass “S.Ignazio” and three Psalms by Domenico Zipoli (Soli, Choir and Orchestra), “Messa da Requiem” by Domenico Cimarosa (Soli, Choir and Orchestra), the Opera “The little sweep” by Benjamin Britten and he was trainer of the Boys’/Girls’ Choir of the opera “La piccola vedetta lombarda” by Cristian Carrara.

CATHARINA SCHARP – SOPRANO – VOCAL COACH, SOLOMEO SECTION

Catharina Scharp was born in Stockholm, Sweden, where she started her voice and musical studies, at the age of 9, at the famous School “Adolf-Fredriks Musikskola”. Further on, she continued her voice studies with Berit Hallquist, Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. Thanks to a scholarship from the Italian Foreign Ministry, she continued her education in Italy, where she took her Diploma in Singing, with full marks, at the Conservatory of Perugia, in 1991. In March 2007, she took a Master in Singing (specializing in Chamber Repertoire), at the same Conservatory, maxima cum laude. She has attended several masterclasses, including “Interpretation of German Song – Lied“, with Prof. Hildur Lohmann-Becker (Germany), ”Interpretation of Opera”, with Elisabeth Söderström (Sweden), Håkan Hagegård (Sweden), Carmen Gonzalez (Italy) and “Interpretation of Modern and Contemporary Repertoire” with Rosemary Hardy (England). Mrs. Scharp has toured in varoius countries, such as Italy, Belgium, Holland and Sweden, collaborating with Festivals and Cultural Associations, like Goethe Institut – Institute of German Culture, Bologna, Italy, Institute of Italian Culture, Bruxelles, Belgium, Institute of Italian Culture, Amsterdam, Holland, Conservatory of Zwolle, Holland, Festival di Tagliacozzo, Italy, Orchestra Sinfonica, Perugia, Italy, Dansmuséet, Stockholm, Sweden, Musik på Karlbergs Slott, Stockholm, Sweden, Amici della Musica, Perugia, Italy, Millesgården, Stockholm, Sweden, Villach Kultur, Villach, Austria, AGIMUS, Perugia, Italy and Festival delle Nazioni, Città di Castello, Italy. She has participated many times in Italian Television, on RAI UNO, RAISAT and CANALE 5. The tune “Voice of Victory” of “La Domenica Sportiva” was written especially for her voice and was on the air on RAI UNO every Sunday evening for many years. She has also recorded concerts for Italian RAI Radio. In 2001, she sang at the concert for the Holy Father Pope John Paul II, in Piazza San Pietro, Rome, in front of an audience of over 100.000 people; the concert was broadcasted live on channel RAI UNO and on RAI’s International Channel RAI SAT. Mrs.Scharp has recorded the CD “ABBA’ PATER” for Sony Classical and Radio Vaticana, with the partecipation of the Holy Father Pope John Paul II. She is teaching Voice and Interpretation at Music School “G.Puccini” in Città di Castello, Italy and gives masterclasses around Italy.

CHIARA FRANCESCHELLI – SOPRANO – DIRECTOR OF PONTE FELCINO SECTION

She took her Diploma in Singing at the Conservatory of Florence in July 2005 under the guidance of Katheleen Lafferty. Further on, she has continued her studies at the masterclass of the Internationale Sommerakademie Mozarteum in Salzburg with Edith Mathis; she has then studied operistic repertoire with Carmen Gonzales and Luca Lucchini and, in 2011, she took a diploma at the Baroque Singing Course held by mezzosoprano Gloria Banditelli at Istituto “Briccialdi” in Terni. She has undertaken an intense concert activity in Italy and abroad collaborating with both cameristic groups and important Italian and European orchestras (such as Orchestra Regionale delle Marche, I Solisti di Perugia, Philadelphia Symphonic Orchestra, Leopoli Orchestra (Ucraina), Kiel Symphonic Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Regionale del Molise, Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento) showing a specific sensibility for Mozart’s and sacred music repertoires. The operistic experience led her to play the role of “Barbarina” in Le Nozze di Figaro by W.A.Mozart, at Preggio Festival and the role of “Second Lady” in The Magic Flute by W.A.Mozart, “Despina” in Così fan tutte by W.A.Mozart and “Serpina” in La serva padrona by G.Pergolesi. In August 2009, she played the role of “Juliet” in The Little Sweep by B.Britten at Festival delle Nazioni in Città di Castello; in October 2009 she played for the first time the role of “Musetta” in Boheme by G. Puccini, under the direction of Stephen Chen. On September 29th 2012, she participated at RAIUNO TV show organized by Andrea Bocelli, singing as a solist. From 1998 to 2015 she has sung as a solist in the Musical Chapel at San Francesco’s Church in Assisi, under the direction of P.G.Magrino. She has recently completed the recording of 4 CDs of franciscan sacred music (ed. CEDIF). She is teaching Singing at Istituto Musicale Bonaventura Somma in Chianciano Terme (SI).